President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed during a Saturday phone call how both nations could fight international terrorism and work together to reach peace in the Middle East, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.
Trump and Putin agreed to restore “mutually beneficial trade and economic ties” between business communities in both nations and to coordinate US-Russian efforts in order to defeat terrorist organizations in Syria, the statement said. The White House as of Saturday afternoon had not released its own statement on the conversation.
Both leaders discussed Middle East politics, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iranian nuclear program, security on the Korean peninsula, and Russian-Ukrainian relations, the statement said.
Trump did not mention lifting economic sanctions President Obama had imposed on Russia after its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, despite calls from Congressional Republicans to maintain them. And they did not cover US intelligence reports that Russian spies hacked Democratic email accounts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.
Instead Trump “conveyed the wishes of happiness and prosperity to the Russian people” and noted that Americans are “sympathetic to Russia and its citizens,” the statement said.
Trump spoke with Putin Saturday afternoon from the Oval Office surrounded by Vice President Pence, National Security Advisor Mike Flynn, and his top political adviser Steve Bannon.
The president called several world leaders Saturday, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom Trump will meet in Washington on Feb. 10.
On Friday, Trump said he hoped to have a “fantastic relationship” with Putin during a joint meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May.